Colonies Online is an open MMO-sandbox, set in the distant future on the far reaches of space. Players unite as colonists to explore vast territories of far-out planets, fight with alien monsters and search for rare resources to build their new home in the outland.

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Early Access Game

Get instant access and start playing; get involved with this game as it develops.

Note: This Early Access game is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you
should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

“Early Access to the game for us is not just a way to raise up funds but also an opportunity to communicate with players. Although we have a clear concept of the project, we are very much interested to know how the new opportunities we are introducing are received and how they are used.

Purchasing Early Access makes you a part of the development process and allows you to follow the progress of the project. Standing among the first colonists you will be able to watch game opportunities transform from ideas to realization.

Attention! Please make sure you understand that the project is currently in the active stage of development. Not all of the features are implemented by this moment. We cannot guarantee constant trouble-free running of the game and servers.”

Early Access + Free Scout Pack (Limited time promotion!)

Early Access Pack will allow you to taste the game for yourself right now, also it will be your pledge that will help us to develop a better game. Also by purchasing the Eartly Access you get the Scout Pack of items for free! It will ease the first steps in the Colonies Online for new players.

The set includes:

Early Access

Scout Armor Set

Scout Rifle Mk2

Note: You can acquire all items at the Item Pick Point at the Outpost on the first planet – you will arrive there shortly after the beginning of the game.

Pyromancer Pack

Get access to the game and obtain equipment of Special Incendiary Division. As they start to sense thrill of the battle, these reckless guys turn out-of-control killing machines. Tactics and covert operations are not their strongest points, but if you require to clear a certain sector, no one will do better! The constructions that go with the pack are enough to install a moderate size facility which can be used as a storage for your trophies.

The pack includes:

Early Access

Pyromancer Armor Set

Flamethrower Mk2

Repair Nanobots Rp4

Set of constructions for a building

Note: You can get in-game items in the game on Delta Outpost in a special terminal "Item Pick Point".

Dreadnought Pack

Purchasing Early Access pass for two, you get an equipment set of Dreadnought Division. Dreadnoughts are legendary for their iron discipline and strongest will-to-win spirit. Unstoppable like an iron fist they move through the battlefield, able to accomplish the most important missions. And the more Dreadnoughts are feared by enemies, the more respect they earn from their allies! With this pack you also get a number of constructions for setting up a defended post which is sure to become a convenient base for projecting your operations.

The pack includes:

Early Access x2

Dreadnought Armor Set

Assault Rifle GR-50

Repair Nanobots Rp4

Set of constructions for a defended post

Note: You can get in-game items in the game on Delta Outpost in a special terminal "Item Pick Point".

Citizen Pack

For players with serious intentions we prepared Citizen’s Pack. The set of constructions included in this pack allows you to start your colony almost right off. Walls with electric shields, power generators and several turrets is all you need to build your first home on a far-out planet. Additionally you shall receive a special full-dress uniform of the Citizen, assault rifle GR-50, and Early Access for three of your friends who you think can contribute to the colony development.

The pack includes:

Early Access х4

Citizen Armor Set

Assault Rifle GR-50

Repair Nanobots Rp4

Set of constructions for a colony

Note: You can get in-game items in the game on Delta Outpost in a special terminal "Item Pick Point".

About This Game

Distant future, the frontier of known space. Brave colonists are making their path on uncharted planets, fighting for a place under foreign stars.

One of these brave men is you. Drop down to the surface and make the first steps towards building your own space colony! Fight with hostile fauna, conquer new territories, build alliances and march to war against each other. Build settlements, protect and develop your foothold as you like – most importantly, do not forget that it will not be so easy to survive, to preserve and increase your belongings – in Colonies Online the world is common for all, and there are many colonists besides you in the game, and all of them are operating their own interests – that means that nothing and no one is safe.

Vast areas for colonization, countless monsters, lots of planets and unexplored possibilities are right in front of you. Are you ready to take the risk?

All players in the Colonies Online are in a single game world – there are no instances, no restrictions, full interaction with others! Everything you create in the game world will be available to other players even when you're offline. System, that we’re implemented in the game, allows us to create an infinite number of planets with an area of several thousand square kilometers, so we don’t need to divide players in different game worlds, and at the same time we can ensure that there is enough place for everyone to have their own adventures.

A key feature in the Colonies Online. Colonies which players build, will be a centers of communication, research, trade and so on. Players will decide what type of colony they want to build – a secure military base for your guild or free trade spaceport, which will allow everyone to enter. Various building blocks will allow players to create a truly unique structures and security systems to protect them from unwanted visitors. Auction houses, item storages, vendors and so on, disposed on the territory of a colony – all of this will help to make a particular colony a unique place.

New Update! All planets in the Colonies Online are rich in mineral resources – you just need to find and to extract them. Some resources require large-scale approach to exploitation – building mines and long-term development. Locating deposits of rare resources and their further development can become a true adventure in remote corners of planets.

The game uses fair non-target system. In conjunction with the isometric view and WASD-controls that makes battles more dynamic – more like a fights in Action genre games than of the classic MMO fighting mechanics. Players will have to think well of their surroundings and tactics to blast their opponents and at the same time not to injure their teammates – friendly fire, you know!

In Colonies Online players can start a firefight with anyone, anywhere. Living opponents will always pose a serious threat – you will need to defend your territory to avoid becoming a victim of aggressive raids. And you can hunt for others, too – it is dangerous, but it is often worth the trophies: arms and supplies, resources and technologies of other players – all this can be taken away for good.

Game features a full character equipment system: armor, helmets, weapons, energy shields – all things that will be helpful for you to dominate in the colonies. In future, with addition of crafting, everyone will be able to make unique items from scratch!

Game will not have predefined classes, instead, there will be a wide variety of skills, from which players can create sets. By combining skills in an interesting set, player will be able to create a profession out of it and teach it to other players. And if such set will contain a rare skill, it can be profitable to sell!

Almost all items in the Colonies Online will be made by players with use of their technologies. Flexible craft-circuits will allow creating unique equipment and construction props, as well as customizing any of their parameters.

Game has an original system of "influences". By investigating patterns of substances, obtained from defeated monsters, players can explore new technologies and use the results of their research to create a more powerful equipment. However, you should be careful – cool technologies in your hands will attract greedy glances from others.

This a very promising project game with very promising ideas and nice base building, I do recommend it, as long you do realise the Early Access is a work in progress and you arent buying a finished product, but rather, a less than half done product helping a project that may turn to something special. I also like the fact the devs do take the time to respond to people on the steam game forum so they care on the players feedback

First of all: This is indeed an Early Access game. I bought it while being fully aware of that fact. I don't get the people who expect a finished game when they buy early access items.

That being said, i think colonies online has a lot of potential. I bought the game pretty soon after the steam release, half a year ago. There has been ongoing development ever since - which is an important aspect to an early access game.

What can you do now: Fight monsters and other players, grind money, buy better equipment and build your base. The basebuilding is quite solid, it supports placing (and re-replacing but not re-packaging) of components, turrets, doors, and several special constructions like mines or a surgical station used to quickly replenish your hp.

Basebuilding is by far the most interesting part of the game right now, it's lacking in other areas (pve is quite repetitive) but the sandbox character makes up for it.

So should you buy this game? If you like sandbox games, which allow for big base building with a lot of pieces to choose from, you will be happy in this game...keep in mind however other players can attack your home, so defend it well and build it up in a remote area ;) Also, shooting huge alien bugs is fun.

I like the game, i love the premmise. Though early access and it was frustrateing when i first started because things are notExplained in game. However fun can definetly be had with this game. The weapons you can buy are not OP and you can get weapons more powerful in game with normal currency. If your looking for a relatively polished product then move on this game is clearly in alpha with some bugs and problems with telling you information you need to know.

I am haveing fun with the game and the developers are active on the steam forum to adresse any issues. In my opinion the game is well worth what i paid for it.

WARNING: Gamers with ATT internet service MUST email the developers and give them your email address and steam ID information before you can actually play the game. They are currently working on resolving this issue but the problem has been around for months.

Everyone agrees that the game has potential but gamers need to be informed about the current status of the game. I cannot recommend Colonies Online at this time. Reason being:

- Very low player population: Even when adding the total number of players not on steam.- Buggy combat/frameskipping and server lag is evident- Weapon not reloading properly bug- Item descriptions needs to be corrected and redone- Severe grind heavy gameplay combined with the extremely high cost for items - Incomplete storyline and general direction- Customers of ATT internet service cannot gain access to the main website- Tutorial needs to be corrected and redone- Takes a long time to allow steam players to bypass the client launcher before you can jump into the game. (This will happen everytime you try to play Colonies Online)

The game looks to be in the early early stages of alpha. Many players have accused the developers of giving up on the game but there have been updates.

I do not believe the game is worth 5 dollars in it's current state. There is just too much work to be done before they can call it finished. I believe it would be years before that dream becomes reality. And by that time many people would have already forgotten such an outdated existed. You have been warned.

Pros: Interesting conceptWill run on tosterThey added skills and leves!

Cons:No tutorial of any kindAnyone can just come and destroy your base when you are offline or if you are online - kill you and destroy you base cos most people that do so play in groups so if you don't have a group to play with - sooner or later someone will take all your stuff and there is nothing you can do.Still boring gameplay, slow moving, slow shooting nothing like Alien shooter or that kind of games.Base building is not only useless but also complicated what makes it rly bad waste of time.

Early access. Do not buy unless you have intentions of helping it along. They do not mention the cash shop available on their website, with a limited selection of items to 'help' along players and there are more options for different packs to invest in the game (Ala Kickstarter type stuff.)

Edit 2 - The game is clearly also 'Pay to win' right now. The more money you invest into the game is going to net you better gear, which makes it easier for you to hunt mobs and make PvP a simple matter of holding your gun straight at an enemy and holding the mouse button for a split second until they crumple under your overwhelming DPS. To give a comparison, the starting gun has a stated 16 DPS - The gun you can buy in a bundle has 300+dps, and you have a meager starting 50hp. None of the armor seems to reduce damage by any tangible amount either.

To make it even worse, safe areas are not clearly designated or noted, and so you don't even know if you're even capable of defending yourself or being annihilated until you trade shots, and then you just sit there daring the other person to leave whatever safe area you've found so you, or they, can shoot each other in the back.

Edit 3 - Game seems pretty stable if lacking in graphical options. Zero ability to adjust any graphical options at all and I couldn't find any to adjust in the files. Everything you build can be destroyed while you are offline, including the stuff you've bought in the bundles, and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it. If you lose your ILU (Basically your transport unit until they add more stuff for it) while you are offline and log back in, you are effectively stuck on the planet until you suicide into bugs. Hopefully you killed a bunch of stuff with that bundle you bought (You bought it, right? Hope you like doing zero damage and getting ganked all day if you didn't) because if you didn't, you'll be starting over from nearly ground zero. Re-grind for money to get another ILU to transport yourself to another planet only for it to be destroyed the next time you log off.

ANYTHING YOU BUILD CAN BE DESTROYED WHILE YOU ARE OFFLINE. It is INCREDIBLY easy to do this. This wouldn't be such a huge issue if you weren't transported to another planet and dropped next to two to three other players ILU's, of which you can shoot if you want. You can also damage your own if you shoot it. The basic turrets provided to all ILU's only fire at mobs and not players regardless if you're being fired at or not.

Edit 4 5/3/14 - PvP protection has been enabled on the first planet for all players. It's an entirely Co-op experience until you get your first ILU and get off planet and into another. No more camping complete newbies. Safe areas are labeled with a (SAFE AREA) in safe areas, but you still don't know when you're near one (The only safe area I know of now is the entire first planet.) Game is significantly more playable now because of the change.

**I will continue to update this review as the game fixes it's initial problems. I'm in for the long haul in this one.**

I built my first base. I spent a couple of hours to build. I built turrets, power-generator, item-storage, etc..After some time, came another player. He killed me with "one shot" and destroyed ALL of my base in less than a minute! My turrets (4 of them) is not fired even one time!This is the most stupid thing I've ever seen. This game is a huge waste of time and money.

Worst thing I discovered after buying the game: This game has a shop! Where you can buy weapons, armor, etc. .. You have to pay for a game that should be F2P and has a system: Pay for Win!

On the other hand: If you spend huge (real) money, someone come and destroy everything you have built in 5 minutes without a problem.

I love PVP, but the game which have open PVP + shop with guns, armours, resources, etc.. is a BIG fail!

All in all I would have to say my experience has been under board since day one, from the non-stop safe zone camping to griefing.

The funny part is that every single positive review about the game is written by the very same first day griefers who ran off about 50% of the first day non-pvpers with griefing.

And now for the funniest part to top all of that off, the very same griefers have been appointed mods by the developer's in the steam hub to squash any kind of negative feedback, no matter how civil it is.

Ya know you might be going about handling this all wrong? Just saying.

IMO anytime a developer gives power to a player it's a bad thing, especially over others idea's and opinion's no matter how negative or positive they might be. tsktsk

This game is a total lost cause in my book. To bad I had to be the fool to spend the 50 dollars in support of the game only to be ran off by power wielding developer's pet's, not just in game but in the steam hub as well.

Let this be a warning to all those who think they are gonna play this game the way they want to or have their own idea's.

They will ♥♥♥♥ all over you.

Edit: Just an FYI, now they are even telling people to ignore the reviews and negative feedback, which they so rightfully earned for themselves by abusing the very people who were trying to support this game.

I wonder if they will stop treating people the way they are or if it will continue? Think I'll keep an eye on this one just out of curiosity. I certainly won't be playing it anymore even if they do have my 50 dollars. Not worth the abuse from the Mod appointed by the dev's to be honest. At least I can say that without flinching.

I feel really bad for the people who are stuck with the game and the lost money who can't say that it's no big deal they got screwed over. Best of luck to all of you though.

At this point in time there are really only two features in the game. Base building and loot grinding to buy better weapons. Until crafting and skills come into play you will tire of the game quickly.

Pros:-Base building is solid and you can edit structure per tile leading to high creativity. Costly and slow to do if you are not a bought in premium player.-Combat is fun and they got the tactical elements right. Hiding behind cover, flanking and leading your targets are all relevant to comabt.

Cons:-Content is minimal. Shoot a few monsters a thousand times, sell monster parts, buy new gear. Repeat. This is IT to the game beyond building bases.-Lack of progression system, skills or crafting contributes to the extremely repeditive play.-Minimal anti greifing systems compounds the minimal content causing players to get bored and muder people.-UI needs work. Badly. Across the board.-Base security is minimal and most tiles can be destroyed/griefed without specific sheilding.

Summary:Unless you want to support the developers do not buy this game yet as it is extremely early access and likely wont keep your interest for more than a few hours. I do however recommend following this game to see if it does get beyond its current itteration as the potential for something special is clearly there.

I know the game is early access but the available features really are terrible. Apart from shooting bugs and following an extremely arduous mission line, the game has only one other feature - construction. However, as appealing as this may sound, a considerable amount of time (or money) will have to be spent in order to even think about construction. Aside from this, there's the annoying ganking and grade-A molesters who like to kill you at every opportunity they can get (as PvP isn't optional). Although I myself don't have a problem with that, I can imagine if someone went on a spree to kill a load of noobs the noobs would think it's an awful game and quit, straight up. The only way to earn money (it would seem) is to kill bugs, sell their carcasses and keep grinding on and on and on and on... My main "bug" (get it) with this therefore is just the lack of features. I've heard rumour that they will add these in as time goes on but at the moment, in alpha (or whatever stage it is in), I would say the game is worth about £2.99.

First, I like the gameplay, and I like the proposed ideas (though they are a bit vague)Overall I find that it could one day be fun but it’s not right now. I see a lot of people complaining about pay 2 win. Yes this is a problem in games, but in this game it’s frustrating on all sides. As someone with more money than time I bought the high end Citizen pack. On the first day I built my base, put up my generators and put power in them and used shield walls, I was good to go. Nice and secure base. The generators only last 5 days. This is a huge problem, I did this on a Saturday that means if I don’t get to it on time on a Wednesday in time the power goes out, walls become vulnerable and that’s that.

Well last Wednesday I was stuck at work and couldn’t make it home on time to login. Power went out, my base was raided, and I lost everything. $50 worth of stuff gone, just like that. Sure I still have my armor, but it’s almost gone too because of the degrading repairs. I basically paid for nothing.

As a whole I wouldn't have a problem with this, I could have had someone do it for me, but then I’d have to trust them, or I could have topped-up the night before. Or whatever. Here is the problem. The game isn't done, tons of features are missing, turrets don't defend your base from players, and there is nothing to do but grind and raid bases. I understand it’s in development, I know what that’s like. But the fact that there is no wipe and reset for a live launch, no do overs in the game, even though the developer has no problems flat out taking away your currency whenever they feel the economy is suffering. This is horrible.

Because of this, I will not be returning to this game. There is little reason for these kinds of decisions and there are many other things I can be doing with my time, more experiences that are better thought out.

I wish you well with your future progress and player base, however I don’t think this game will ever have a substantial player base.

Again these are my personal thoughts an opinions and I feel like sharing them.

I bought this game because I see alot of potential in it, and I knew that it has some bugs, some technical issues here and there and that I have to find out alot by myself. I also knew that there are only coremechanics available and most of the features are in developement. That's why it is tagged as early access.If you expect a finished and flawless game, you probably shouldn't look for early access games.If you like to see games grow in developement, this game could be for you.

What you get, if you buy these packages:You'll get armor and weapons that help you to start into the game. But the best stuff is only available in game. So it is not pay to win. Just support the game and you'll save some time and skip the beginning (you'll get this stuff at the item storage, once you arrived the outpost - road to the west from the point you spawn.)

So what kind of potential do I see?You can build facilities wherever you want. And facilities are destroyable. You can team up with other players and build a big one (like guildhousing). The worlds are big and split into huge, diverse sectors and if you go off the roads, you will need a good sense of navigation, otherwise you get lost. This also provides good places to hide, if you prefer to be alone. This means, you can choose a path by the possibilites given. In future I can imagine big wars between hostile clans fighting each others and trying to destroy their facilities, and players owning a secret treasure crave where they store their stuff after robbing other players. Finally an online game - beside of eve online - where you have a real reason to take part in a war.

But at the moment it is not at this point. They are working on crafting, if I see the UI I expect some skills or something (at the moment it is just press mouse and shoot). It's a bit grindy as you don't have quests or anything and the monsters are not varying much. But it is already fun to play, if you are okay with some issues and basic mechanics.

Right now the game is 90% grinding bugs , 10% PVP . The only sense of " progression" that you'll get is from adding very very minimal upgrades to a base ( the amount of $$ needed if your not going the PTW route is enormous ) or selling the same 2 items to vendors while killing the 5 different types of bugs over and over and over again.....

There are no ' levels" in the game, or a skill tree or anything of that sorts . Probably tops less then 10 quests are in game if even that. I'm surprised that this game made it Early Access. Maybe I've played too much Infantry Online but even that game seems to be better then this game despite being made in 1999 .....

The idea of this game is sound. With a combination of base building, monster hunting, looting, exploration, PVE and PVP the game really could pack a punch. However that is the idea of the game, not the actual game in its current state.

The "shell" on offer is very limited. Walking, shooting, looting, basic base building are all there. But that's it. With limited features, repetitive situations, and no real feeling of accomplishment, this game feels more like being stuck in a plain cardboard box rather than a space aged adventure.

I bought the Dreadnaught pack to get an extra copy so my brother and I could play, and I have to admit that this is the first time I regret buying a game on steam.

Keep an eye on this game though. It could turn out well. However, that would require the investment of the developers, who at this stage, have promised a show, sold the tickets, but ran off with the cash. I will of course update my review, should my opinions change with future updates.

THIS SHOULD BE NOTED BEFORE YOU PURCHASE... IF YOU HAVE ATT AS AN INTERNET PROVIDER THEIR SITE WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO ACCESS IT, THEREFORE MAKING THE GAME UNPLAYABLE UNTIL YOU FOLLOW A BYPASS GUIDE BY USING ANOTHER INTERNET PROVIDER SOMEWHERE ELSE. THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED IMMEDIATELY... the gameplay looks awesome but for now don't purchase...

7/10, very fun but terrible servers. It has alot of potential, but many times i just can't log on. I really think it needs vehicles (ground like tanks, atv's, and apc's and air like drones, helis, and maybe fighters), better building (more vertical building, beds, farming areas, cooking areas), and better gun and armor models, more than just 3. Fun, but alot of mindless killing. It also needs quests, a real tutorial (this one doesn't really cut it), and better optimization. Very fun, especially with friends. The squad system needs to be better, and there needs to be a friend system.

I love the idea of this game, but the pvp right now is aweful and there are lots of people who just pick off the noobs at the start of the game, taking away all of the fun. If they fix that, I think I will really like this game.